The Nigerian Railway Corporation said 26 passengers and crew members were injured Monday in a train incident along the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor.
Managing Director Kayode Opeifa said in a statement Tuesday that the incident occurred around 9:16 a.m. near Asham Station when a loud bang was heard as part of the train formation collided.
The Kaduna-to-Abuja service departed Rigassa Station at 7:15 a.m. and reached Jere Station slightly ahead of schedule before continuing its journey, he said.
According to Opeifa, the incident happened between kilometer points 50 and 51 as the train approached Asham Station.
“A loud bang was heard as the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the coaches,” he said, adding that preliminary findings suggest a possible issue with one or more couplers.
He said none of the coaches derailed and the cause of the suspected decoupling is still under investigation.
The affected components — locomotive 2809, power car BVA0002 and passenger coach SP0006 — were detached after the incident.
The train resumed movement at 9:42 a.m., arriving at Kubwa at 10:10 a.m. and terminating at Idu Station at 10:39 a.m., with a total delay of 38 minutes.
A total of 481 people were on board, including 429 passengers, 10 crew members, 26 security personnel, six vendors, eight cleaners and two third-party operators, Opeifa said.
He said 26 people sustained varying degrees of injuries, including passengers, medical staff, cleaners and security personnel.
Rail services later resumed, with the Abuja-to-Kaduna service departing Idu at 2:48 p.m. and arriving Rigassa at 5:33 p.m. A return trip departed shortly after and reached Idu later that evening.
Authorities said investigations into the incident are ongoing.
